1. Summary of the Invention
This invention relates to improved rod and bracket assemblies for bed skirts often called dust ruffles and, more particularly, to a hardside waterbed, a bed skirt and a rod and bracket assembly having a plurality of vertically extending, laterally spaced brackets coupled to the bottom of the hardside waterbed with horizontally extending rods placed into and retained by the brackets to support the bed skirt.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the field of bed skirts and their supporting hardware, it is the common practice to position a flat sheetlike member or platform beneath a mattress and above a box spring supported on slats of a bed frame. The platform is of a size to be peripherally co-extensive with the box spring and mattress. From the two sides and foot end of the platform, cloth depends in a color and fabric coordinated with other parts of the bedding or room. The depending fabric preferably includes tucks or shirring permanently stitched to the platform. Because of its extensive size and shirring, the stitching of the depending cloth to the platform is a burdensome task.
In addition to fabrication problems, the placement of a skirt in position between a box spring and mattress and its removal, whether for cleaning or replacement purposes, is also difficult, a two-person job requiring the removal of the mattress from the box spring and its replacement. Consequently, skirt cleaning or changing is frequently done less often than it should be. Further, any unnecessary movement of the box spring or mattress, as during sleeping or making the bed, may laterally displace the previously positioned platform to render the hem of the skirt uneven requiring, in turn, readjustment of the skirt.
The problems associated with advanced rod and bracket assemblies for bed skirts are rendered complicated when such technology is applied to hardside waterbeds. Hardside waterbeds include a rigid frame structure with a horizontal bottom and vertical walls and a water filled bladder supported therein. The entire frame may be supported on an additional rigid structure for appropriate elevation. No techniques are known for maintaining bed skirts at a proper elevational location on such hardside waterbeds.
The prior art discloses a large number of techniques for holding a bed skirt in place. Consider British Patent Numbers 13,369 to Brownlow and 20,213 to Cluskey as well as Littell U.S. Pat. No. 710,477. These patents disclose bed skirts supported on rods secured to a metallic frame in an older form of bed wherein the frame is located at the bottom of the box spring location. Further, Richardson U.S. Pat. No. 264,758 and Higley U.S. Pat. No. 674,609 disclose complex mechanisms for supporting a removable bed skirt with such mechanisms including a plurality of parts connectable to the bed frame members. In addition, Blake U.S. Pat. No. 210,084 and Beauchamp U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,980 disclose bracket arrangements for supporting cloth material depending therefrom but for use in the curtain arts rather than the bedding arts.
Lastly, a variety of prior art patents disclose various techniques for maintaining fabric components including bed skirts at a proper elevational orientation. Such patents include Lehr U.S. Pat. No. 959,763; Woodford U.S. Pat. No. 2,769,989; Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,632; and Whitfield U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,608. Additional patents of interest are very old patents issued in the United Kingdom as U.K. Patent Numbers 8719; 12142; and 142213.
As illustrated in a great number of prior patents as well as commercial devices, efforts are continuously being made in an attempt to improve bed skirts and their associated hardware whereby yard good material may be conveniently placed and removed from adjacent to the lower portions of hardside waterbeds. None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the present invention. Additionally, prior art dust ruffles do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to fabricate, and by employing only readily available materials.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hardside waterbed over which bedding is to be placed; a rod and bracket assembly secured to the waterbed, such rod and bracket assembly including rods, and a plurality of brackets secured to the waterbed by their upper extents with upwardly projecting resilient fingers of a size as to receive the rods around the opposite sides and bottom end of the waterbed, and
a bed skirt having means at its upper end for coupling the bed skirt to the rod means.
It is another object of this invention to secure brackets and rods with respect to a hardside waterbed to allow for the convenient placement and removal of bed skirts.
It is a further object of the instant invention to simplify the fabrication of shirred dust ruffles
Lastly, it is an object of the subject invention to retain bed skirts in proper orientation with respect to beds regardless of movement of the beds or its bedding.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.